Soup and Story Saturday

On November 29, 2025November 29, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized6 Comments

Hello everyone!! This is just a little Saturday post, where if you want to chat about soup that you have made or eaten or a recipe you have, and tell a story about your life, a memory, a book you are reading, anything, here is your chance!

We have had wintery weather here this week, with snow flurries and cold temps, and was the perfect week for soup. It was also a good week for soup because Billy and I knew that we had a lot of cooking and baking ahead of us for our two Thanksgiving celebrations and we wanted to keep things easier during the week. So on Sunday we made a whole chicken, ate it with potatoes and corn like a little preview for Thanksgiving, then turned the rest into soup. I haven’t quite landed on the soup recipe I want for chicken yet. This one was good, but was a little too tomato-y.

This is the Chicken Vegetable Soup by Dinner at the Zoo. I actually really liked this one, Billy is the one that stated it was had too much tomato. And I didn’t have green beans and I think that might have been a delicious addition. It reminded me of being a kid eating soup on winter afternoons after playing in the snow for hours.

I’ve been sharing memories the past few weeks, so instead, let’s talk about something else today. Something recent.

Last weekend we took Wyatt to the local Christmas parade – for the first time. I felt so remiss as a parent that I had never taken him to this before, since I used to go every single year with my family. My dad was always about “travel fast and light” back then (although you wouldn’t know now by the amount of luggage he packs to go on vacations) so we just went to the parade, no blanket, chairs, just us. Thank goodness my aunts were not of that belief and brought chairs for the adults and blankets for us kids. So I had that in mind when we packed up to go to the parade with Wyatt. He has his own chair, but I wanted to make sure we took blankets too, in case he wanted to sit on the ground with his buddies.

We met my two friends Nicole and Shawnna and Nicole’s daughter A and Shawnna’s son Z. Nicole’s mom was there as well. We got there first and threw down our big wool blanket, and waited for the others to arrive. Nicole and Shawnna are neighbors so they were driving together and they were on the way. While we waited, Billy walked down to Tim Horton’s and brought back hot chocolate for Wyatt, and coffees for us which I was very grateful for since it was absolutely freezing out. Billy also bought one for the young police officer at the corner directing traffic, who was also very thankful and cold.

I realized I may have bundled Wyatt up a bit too much, much like my mom and aunts did to us when we were kids. We were all like the kid in the Christmas Story, and poor Wyatt was too.

In my defense, Wyatt does get colder in his wheelchair. He isn’t moving around generating body heat, and that metal gets so cold! However, I still sort of overdid it. Which I realized after I saw him with his friends. Whoops.

We didn’t have to wait long before the parade started, and seriously, I was like a kid myself! I love parades and we never go, and I was reminded of how much I do love them! Shawnna joked that I was just like one of the kids, and after I got pelted with candy I thought there was maybe some truth to that.

I’m the kid with the yellow hat. Brian is right next to me, and my cousin Melissa is the cutie on the other end.

We came home with so much candy, it was crazy! A and Z were so mindful of making sure to grab some for Wyatt, it was so sweet of them! They would run out for the candy, and bring a few pieces back for Wyatt’s pile.

I didn’t take many photos, as I was too busy chitchatting and watching the parade, sitting right on the curb like I did when I was a kid, waving to the people in the cars, on the floats, clapping for the bands and dancers, and making sure to point out the tuba players to Wyatt, who is recently obsessed with them. Tubas, not tuba players. There were also so many scout troops walking in the parade! I had no idea there were so many around us! I am going to see if our little Blackbirds troop wants to walk in next year’s parade.

I managed to grab these two photos. I thought the float of our electrical workers was a cute idea – plus they are heroes around here. Wyandotte makes it’s own electricity, and when our power goes out these guys rush to the rescue and we usually have it back on within an hour or so. So I definitely appreciate them, as they are out in the cold and snow in the winter, or in rain in the summer, spring, and fall.

We had such a good time, just being outside in the brisk air, taking in the crowds and the float, feeling the happiness in the air, being surrounded by friends. Our little group left smiling and laughing, and I am so thankful to have these people in our lives!

Have a story? Soup? Feel free to link up!

A Cozy Life: Vintage Cookbooks and Leaning Analog

On November 26, 2025November 26, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone! I knew it would finally happen! I knew I would finally just slow down, to a crawl instead of a race and here I am.

I have the usual holiday stuff, buying gifts and wrapping and baking and cooking and planning, but when Wyatt was born, we changed how we did the holidays. And every year, things seem to get a little easier.

I’ve been listening a lot to the podcast In the Meadow, and I find Vic and her lifestyle so inspiring. She has been trying to do more things analog, slower, making things more, and thrifting. Now, I won’t switch off the internet entirely – I love the community online, here on my blog, other blogs, Instagram, and the groups I am in. And as a parent of a medically complex child, I learn so much from other parents going through the same things. So I will never diss digital. But there are places where it is kind of nice to step away.

Our family gatherings are already potluck, and I am pretty experienced at the things that I make by now, and I don’t feel as rushed or stressed making them. And our families, by circumstance more than anything else, have their gatherings on different days and dang does that make it easier. And with that in mind, let’s look at cookbooks.

One place that I thought might be fun to step away from the internet sometimes is by using actual cookbooks, rather than online recipes. Right now, I use the internet for cooking and baking, 100% of the time. There are so many recipes right there, at my fingertips, on my phone, so easily reached. My phone is small and I can prop it up right there and it takes up zero room on the counter. However, aren’t old cookbooks a treasure? Billy and I have a collection that I never open, and the other day a friend of mine gave me a few old ones, partially as a joke, but she also knew I would love them. And I did! I mean, some of the recipes I am extremely skeptical about, and probably would never try, but some of them, don’t sound too bad!

I have to share about the Campbells Soup one, only because it was fascinating to read through. There is not a publication year, but I am guessing 50s or 60s? There is a letter at the beginning of the book from Carolyn Campbell, of the Home Economics Department of the Campells Company, and obviously a family member, and I love the idea of a Home Economics Department of a food production company. Is this still a thing? It makes sense to have someone figuring out how to use the products in ways that are economical, helpful, and useful, as well as versatile and also new and innovative ways to use the products. I have to say their marketing (until the news this week!) has stood the test of time, with so many recipes still calling for cream of whatever.

I really enjoyed their suggestions on new ways to use their soups. One way they thought that parents could use soup was as a birthday soup for their children. – instead of a cake. “Gay bowls of cream soup take on a party air when topped with a glowing birthday candle (set on a floating round of toast or a cracker). First top the cracker with a small ball of cream cheese or peanut butter. Poke the end of the candle into it and carefully slip the cracker onto the top of the soup. Then light up the candle.” I asked Wyatt if he would like this instead of a cake at his birthday and he turned it down.

There was also section on how eating soup could help keep your figure trim, with a calorie count for each soup. There were suggestions for including soup with breakfast, teen soups and snacks for such wholesome activities like after-skating warm up, which includes mugs of chickety-chick, cheese and crackers, apples, and oatmeal cookies, and a square dance special that boasts pizza doggies, a raw vegetable tray, doughnuts, and cream soda shake. One of my favorites was the appetizer soups, that it was said were becoming fashionable to serve in a cup in the living room for guests to “sip and savor before the meal.” One suggested appetizer soup dish was the flaming bean soup, that included sherry or bourbon and lemon slices. I asked my mother-in-law the other day if she ever remembered being served soup like this before a party and she did not recall it. I would love to hear if anyone else did!

I literally could go on and on, with the ideas for holidays and seasons and specialty dishes and special menus, like for “when the gals meet” or a “touch of Paris” and while some of it really was unappealing, like the Jellied Soup-Salad, I really admired how very hard they worked to come up with different ways to use their products.

I also really appreciated the dedication:

“To the millions of American Homemakers who work magic with convenience foods.”

So let’s raise our glass of soup, and toast to everyone out there, not just “American homemakers” who are out here, doing our best to feed ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our communities, today and everyday.

Our Cozy Little Life

On November 10, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone!! We had our first snow of the season yesterday, which made us all feel like hibernating. We had a perfect, cozy day.

We hurkle durkled together for a few hours, just reading, scrolling, making lists, and watching Frog and Toad. Wyatt and I have been watching these episodes like crazy lately. They are just so cute and sweet, full of the best things, like baking cookies, and reading, and sending snail mail and flying kites. I got very excited over the Christmas episode too. It is just a great comfort show when you need something fun and childish and whimsical and cozy. I am an adult who is not ashamed to say that they love cartoons.

After a while I decided I needed to get up and do something. So I attempted my first batch of cinnamon rolls! My goal this winter is to make really good cinnamon rolls, and for my first attempt, these were pretty darn good! The flavors were great, they were just maybe a bit more breadlike than cinnamon roll. I really liked them though. I decided to switch up the icing, and found a maple glaze online that I swapped the regular icing for, and it was a good choice. The cinnamon and the maple together were delicious. Billy and I split one for breakfast this morning and the flavors mingling with the coffee…yum!!

While the cinnamon rolls were proofing, we all painted together. I am not an artist, and the past few days I have been attempting the Andrea Nelson Art tutorials from Instagram. She is a watercolor artist and her reel tutorials are approachable, whimsical, and geared for people who can’t art. Like me. They might even be for children, but whatever. I am learning and having fun and that is what matters. I think too, that doing small things like this might help get rid of that art police in my head.

Afterwards I popped the cinnamon rolls in the oven, and the house filled with the most cinnamony scent. I made Christmas plans with Wyatt, talking about other things we might bake and things we want to buy (or receive lol, as he was making his list), and Billy was working on a project in the basement. I eventually wandered back into the kitchen to start dinner, which was chickpea dumpling soup, something I used to make years ago and haven’t for a while. I remember it being very filling and warm on snowy nights, and it was. I think I used to make it a bit differently though, as this was more like a bowl of beans and dumplings – the broth was non-existent. I must have used more before. It was still very good though.

While I was cleaning up, and Billy was getting Wyatt ready for bed, I listened to one of my favorite podcasters, Vic at In the Meadow. If you want a cozy podcast, full of simple goodness, give her a listen. How this young woman has such a wonderful view on life is amazing to me; you attribute that to aging, but I feel like more and more I am learning from the younger generations.

After Wyatt was all cleaned up, it was my turn to do his bedtime routine, which includes a cozy YouTube and a book. Last night we watched Shelby’s Cottage, one of her older autumn videos since she is new to us, then we followed it up with reading Bunnicula. Then it was time for Billy and I to be lazy and loungy together. We chose to watch an episode of Victorian Farm, and I worked on my embroidery while we watched.

I slept so good last night, after such a relaxing cozy day with my guys. And woke up to more snow this morning!

Introducing Soup and Story Saturdays!

On November 5, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Hello everyone!

Winter is coming here in the cold north of the United States and with it long dark nights, and chilly temperatures. For some people this is a nightmare. I however, look sort of forward to it. It is good to slow down, and winter here forces us to do just that.

“Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it.” – Richard Adams, Watership Down

I do look for things to make the winter cozier though. I am all about the cozy and comfy over here, and spending time with a book under a blanket on a cold evening is something I love. Especially if my tummy is full of soup.

Weirdly, I had this idea before I started reading my current book, The Enchanted Greenhouse, and if the idea was just turning over in my brain when I started the book, halfway through this book it was a full fledged one. This book takes place in winter and they eat soup, a lot.

So the idea: On Saturdays, we share a soup we made or ate during the week, or maybe just one we really like, and if possible, share the recipe. Then, of course, we share a story. You can tell us about the book you are reading, or if you want, just share a story of something that happened to you over the week. Maybe even a story of a memory, since I feel like winter and fall make us more reflective. Think of it like we are all sharing a table together, feeling proof against the winter, enjoying our warm food and companionship. And now, I feel like this is so hobbity and I am even more excited!

I will have a linky so we can all pop around and visit, and our first soup and story Saturday will be November 15. I am really looking forward to this!

Our Cozy Little Life Update .. and a Mystery!

On May 14, 2025May 14, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

So, in my mind I view these updates as different from my Coffee Catch Ups. I feel like in my coffee catch up posts, I focus on the big events. In these, which are more rare, I feel like I share more about the smaller, more everyday, the little things in our lives. What we are doing for joy, the small things, our hobbies. I don’t know if that is what actually happens in these posts, but that is what I aim for.

One thing I have been doing is baking more. With prices at the grocery store getting higher, I have been trying to figure out ways to change our eating habits, by making more and buying less processed versions. I obviously don’t have time to make scratch versions of everything we eat- that would be a fulltime job all on its own, I think. But I have started with some easy, quick things. For one, I “make” my own granola to put on yogurt. That is super simple! Just some oats, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, whatever bits you want to put in it, and then pop it in the oven for a little bake. I eat this almost everyday for lunch!

I have also been making Wyatt’s beloved granola bars. He loves Kind bars, which are a bit pricey. So I searched online for something to make in place of them. I didn’t find an exact replacement, but I found a recipe for crumbly jam bars that looked interesting so I went for it. The first batch I made was half jam, half plain, because Wyatt is a picky kid with plain tastes. Much like his mother was as a child and still sort of is as an adult. He was not a fan of the version with jam in the middle, but loved the plain version. Mine look like sawdust blocks honestly, but they are so good! They are have this brown buttery caramely oaty taste. I can’t describe it exactly, but they are very good. Even Billy, who is not a fan of that sort of thing, will sneak one now and again. The best thing about them is they only use 8 ingredients and take half an hour tops to make! Some of the ingredients were a bit more up front, but when added up compared to buying actual granola bars it is still cheaper overall, because I can make so many with the ingredients. There is no refined sugar in them either, and while the coconut sugar really isn’t that much better for you, it does have a lower glycemic index so I tell myself they are better. This is the recipe that I use, although I do mix it up a bit.

These are the berry oat bars from the blog The Oven Light. The only things that I do differently are using different flour (I use a white wheat flour), and omit the jam since Wyatt likes them better without. They are super simple and take me no time at all to whip up for the week.

We have also been making our own cookies. I found an awesome recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and it makes so many cookies that we freeze the dough in small bunches to use later.

Later this week or maybe the weekend, whenever I have time, I am going to try making English muffin bread, since we only really eat bread in the morning as toast, and also a different cookie I found last night on Pinterest. They are honey pistachio cookies, and they sound fantastic! Wyatt loves pistachios, and eats them as a snack everyday. I think I will sub the sugar in the recipe with coconut sugar since we like it in the bars. This recipe is from Recipe Yumm.

I have also been keeping up with my embroidery, and with my coloring. I love to sit and color in my cute little book with my new markers while Wyatt paints with his paint sticks. I love these darn paint sticks. Wyatt loves to paint and wants to paint every day – and sometimes it is just a darn mess and a pain to do all the brushes and different paint and water, and well you get it. So on days where I just want it to be simple, he uses the paint sticks. He loves them – and so do I. It’s a very relaxing activity, to sit quietly and paint and color and listen to music. I have my tea, he has his water. I love the simple coloring books best. I don’t want complicated. We watch a YouTuber sometimes who reviews adult coloring books – I can’t remember her name but I will update this when I remember it, or look it up.

Cozy Spaces || Alcohol Markers || Paint Sticks

And then this week, inspired by both Jeanie from Marmalade Gypsy and Lisa from Boondock Ramblings, I have gotten back into my genealogy! I have found out a lot of information, including a little mystery! I had started my family tree a long time ago, before most of this stuff was online, and had a tree of names and was working slowly on sending away for the proof. Well, I was in my early twenties and soon lost interest. I saved everything though, like the little goblin I am, and pull it out every so often and look at it, and dabble. This week though I have gone a little nuts with it. And then I found some information that is super confusing!

Ok so, let me lay this out. My dad’s great-grandmother, Marie, married his great-grandfather, Alexander “Sandy” Walker in 1905. She lists her name as Marie Domaine, and her parents names as James Domaine and Josephine Bernard from France, although they supposedly lived in Pennsylvania, where Marie lived. However, I can only find one of these names, Josephine Bernard. In the 1900 census, a Josephine Bernard, born in France, and her daughter Marie, also born in France (in the same year that our Marie Domaine was born), worked as a housekeeper for a widower named James Cadamore. Josephine was also listed as a widower. Then I find Josephine Bernard later, married to James Cadamore. I find nothing of Marie Domaine or that last name, and no James Domaine. The area is the exact same, the same city in Allegheny county, they have to be the same people, right? But where did the Domaine come from? Did Marie leave home and create a new identity? Lisa suggested that Domaine is her biological father’s name, who if she is the Marie in the census, was born in Belgium. What is the story here? The dates and location and most of the names fit – just that Domaine is weird. What do you all think?

And this is it from me today! I am off to find some more coffee. I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile, my friends!

And don’t forget, we have drop in crafternoons! Our next one is May 24th. If you are interested in dropping by, send me an email at crackercrumblife@gmail.com!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On July 24, 2024July 24, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone!! We are out of coffee and I am drinking an instant coffee from a Via pack Billy found that was leftover from his camping trip this morning. This does not bode well…. or I can look it like I am lucky that he had that. I think I will view it that way, Billy pulling some magic out of his bag.

Anyway… we have been super busy it feels like. We are just in the middle of so many house projects and taking care of business around here, and also making sure that we have some fun too. It is summer after all.

I mentioned on my Sunday-Monday post that last week was like the perfect quintessential summer week. We had a bike ride, trips to the library, a softball game, ice cream, dinner out (at Wyatt’s request, he is such a homebody but asked to go out and we were so shocked that we did!), reading, and for me, some embroidery as well. Then over the weekend we had our Saturday night game night, and Sunday a party! Let me tell you about all that.

On weekends we have a bit of a routine – Friday night is pizza night, and Saturday night is game night. Wyatt loves game night, which makes me so happy! Usually I put together our little snack tray and it is half cookies/candy or some sort of junk, and then the other half is healthy. This week I let Wyatt pick everything for our snacks and who would have guessed it, but he picked all cookies and candy. That plate by the way is our plate for us all to share, and we didn’t eat everything thank goodness. It was fun though!

Sunday night we had our Full Moon party! We joined the Kids Moon Club from Wilder Child when Wyatt was like 3 or 4, as something to do and make the long winters more fun. I didn’t take him out too much during the winter due to ~germs~ and he was so tiny at the time, my little tiny preemie boy who remained small for a long time. So we did stuff here to have fun. For a year or two we followed the club, doing all the things, and then as years passed, sometimes we would join in, other times not. (it’s a lifetime membership) This year and last year Mermaid Girl started joining us and it has been super fun. This year she has joined us as well, and we have been mixing it up and taking inspiration from the “official” club activities but have been doing our own things too. This month for sure. This month is the Buck Moon but we decided to make it the Blueberry Moon instead, and had a blueberry party! We also invited Mermaid Girl’s whole family this time around, and it was fun to have Mermaid Girl and Wild Child here together for the fun.

We had blueberry drinks – blueberry lemonade for the older kids, blueberry hard cider for the adults, and I kept the menu simple. Grilled cheese all around, with fancy cheese and bread for the adults and kids grilled cheese, with Kraft singles and white bread. We also had spinach salad with walnuts, goat cheese, and blueberries, and a lemon blueberry trifle that was absolutely devoured.

The craft activity this time was painting tshirts, and it was so neat to see what the kids all chose to do- and for Wild Child to get in on it too. They all really enjoyed it. They also made a blueberry moon collage, which turned out really well! After crafting, we went outside, threw down a blanket, and the kids played with a frisbee and with Wyatt’s metal detector. We all had such a good time!

We also added a new fish to our family last week! His name is Star and he lives in Wyatt’s bedroom, near the end of his bed so Wyatt can watch him swimming around. He is super tiny for a betta and I kind of wonder if he is young. He seems to be happy with his new home, as he made a bubble nest! This really has nothing to do with happiness and is actually a sign that he is ready for a lady friend but all betta owners like to think it is because their fish is happy.

Here is little Star! His tank is sort of a weird eerie yellow because the wood (Manzanita) leaks tannins into the water that is actually good for the fish but it makes the water yellowish. It dissipates after a while though, like a week or two or three. Right now it is funny though because it looks so 70s to me. He put so much work into this bubble nest. I didn’t have the heart to tell him though that he is not getting a lady friend.